Green Eyed
by Estrelle Buscador
Summary: Rhonda is hosting a Halloween party, and Arnold is attending, dressed for the occasion. But maybe he should have dressed as a green-eyed monster, because he's been nothing but jealous since he saw his secret love in the arms of someone else...
1. Dance Partners

Greetings Readers!

I know I'm in the middle of _Season's Surprises_ - but I just had to write this story. I was challenged to write a story with a jealous Arnold by **Rubiksmycube** and I also wanted to write a Halloween story...so this combines the two!

Warning: Seemingly-OC Brainy! He fits the characterization I've given him in all of my other HA! stories.

Disclaimer: I do not own Hey Arnold! or any of its characters. Sigh.

* * *

"No."

"Please, Helga?" Sheena pleaded, her eyes looking so plaintively pitiful that no one could look into them and deny her anything.

Unfortunately for her, Helga wasn't looking. "I'm sorry, Sheena, but there is no way," Helga tossed her gym shorts into her gym locker and slammed the door shut, "that I'm going to dance. No. Way."

"Oh, come on, Helga," Phoebe wheedled. As efficient as always, she was already in her school clothes and was leaning on one of the benches in the high school locker room, waiting for the others to get dressed since they'd just finished gym. "You're an excellent dancer. Why not?"

Helga groaned and leaned her forehead against the coolness of her gym locker. And to think it had looked like it was going to be a normal day. It had started off that way – waking up later after nearly missing the bus, and the usual joys of attending school. Gym class had been normal, and when Rhonda had started talking about her Halloween 'soiree' in two weeks, Helga had stopped listening. The resident princess had been planning said party since the middle of August, and Helga had perfected the art of looking interested and nodding at the right times without actually listening. She had only vaguely heard Rhonda moaning about the dancers she had scheduled to perform canceling, and Sheena's earnest offer to help out had come as no surprise either. What had come as a surprise was Phoebe's suggestion for another dance, which had been followed by uncomfortably piercing stares at Helga. Maybe she should have been listening…

"'Why not?' Phoebe, you know I don't like performing in public – how come you spilled that secret on me?" Phoebe flinched at the heated betrayal in Helga's eyes, but Helga did not allow herself to feel guilty.

Phoebe looked back at her and continued, "But Helga…Rhonda needs help. And why don't you want to show people how well you can dance?"

"That's my business, Phebes," Helga folded her arms resolutely, "and there's absolutely no way –"

"We'd pay you." Rhonda's cool voice broke through.

Almost unconsciously, Helga's interest was peaked, and she cursed herself for showing it when Rhonda smugly smirked at her and folded her arms, "Ah, c'mon Uni, just do it."

Helga rubbed her eyebrow defensively, "I've told you time and time again, Princess, stop calling me Uni!"

"Would you prefer the full 'Unibrow'? Because I can oblige. Anyway," Rhonda waved her hand to dispel Helga's retort, "why not? We were planning to pay the dancers we hired, and I can easily pay you." Her smirk grew wider as she delivered what she knew would be the killing blow. "You'd be that much closer to the Mustang…"

Helga gulped. _That, Princess, was hitting below the belt._ The Mustang in question had been spotted by Helga in a local car dealership only two months prior, and she had immediately fallen in love with it. With a passion surpassed only by her passion for writing, and for a certain young man codenamed 'ice cream,' she had thrown herself into earning the money for that car with babysitting and side jobs. In an effort to bridge the awkward gap between them forged during Helga's childhood, her parents had offered to pay for it, but she refused to accept more than half – she wanted to earn it herself. She'd been working hard, but a lot more needed to be saved before she could hold the car keys.

She growled, "Fine, Princess, I'll do it." She pointed at her, "But it better pay good."

Rhonda simply nodded and grinned in the smug way of one who always gets what she wants, slung her gym bag in an elegant but imperious way and called back to the others. "My place after school, okay? We'll talk about it then."

As Nadine followed her best friend and the other girls find out after them, Helga leaned towards Phoebe and muttered. "Phebes, you so owe me for this."

Phoebe simply grinned, "Helga, this is a win-win situation for you. You get to show off your dancing ability, you get paid, and you get to show a certain 'ice cream,'" she smirked, "just what you can do."

"I doubt 'ice cream' would even care, Phebes." Helga replied gruffly, but a deep blush spread across her face.

Phoebe simply shook her head amusedly in response as she followed Helga out. _Of course he would – why can't you accept that he cares for you?_

···

Arnold used a towel to wipe the sweat off his face before tossing it in a dirty towel basket and rejoining the others at the cluster of gym lockers. As he tugged his shirt over his head – an unfortunately laborious process – he could hear Harold once again asking if they were attending his girlfriend's Halloween party.

Gerald rolled his eyes, "Yeah, Harold. We've been over this, man. We've RSVP'd and everything – geez, what more do you want?"

"Sorry." Harold said, looking distinctly unapologetic as he grinned, "Rhonda's just been bugging me to ask you guys."

Stinky gave a cough that sounded suspiciously like 'hen-pecked' before grinning at Harold, "What?"

"Knock it off," Harold growled, his fists clenching, "I am not hen-pecked – just be lucky I didn't start asking when she first wanted me to." He chuckled, his good humor returning, "You'd be getting weekly updates starting from August."

Eugene nearly tripped over his gym bag as he closed his locker door. Steadying himself, he asked, "So what did Rhonda say when you told her no?"

Harold flushed. "I didn't exactly…"

"You lied to my beloved?" a scandalized voice cried out loudly, and Curly leapt around the corner, pointing his tennis racket accusingly at Harold. "How dare you, you cur!"

"I didn't lie, per se," Harold said soothingly in an effort to calm the irate boy who had been so indignant on Rhonda's behalf that he leapt to her defense wearing nothing but a towel. To Harold's relief, he saw the racket beginning to slowly lower. He liked Curly, but there were times when the guy was like a ticking time bomb – and he was determined not to light the fuse. Unfortunately, any perceived wrong towards Rhonda seemed to do that… "I just omitted certain facts."

"Fine." Curly shrugged and then casually tossed the racket to the side where it nearly hit Sid in the head.

"How are things going with the party, anyway?" Arnold asked as he pulled his school shirt over his head.

"Okay, I guess, if you don't count the nervous breakdown Rhonda had when the dancing troupe she hired cancelled on her."

"Dancing troupe?" Brainy asked, shoving his glasses back onto his face as they threatened to swing off the bridge of his nose. "Why would we need dancers at a Halloween party?"

Harold sighed, "You know Rhonda – she likes to go all out."

A silence fell over the group as their minds somehow all wandered to the same memory of the enormous chocolate fountain Rhonda had commissioned for her last Valentine's Day party, and they nodded. She did like hosting elaborate events.

"What's she going to do then?" Sid asked, "Give up on the dancing idea?"

"I doubt it," Brainy chuckled, "if I know anything about people, Rhonda's probably telling the other girls all about it…which probably means that they're going to try and help." He pointed to Eugene, "It wouldn't surprise me if your girlfriend offered to help dance."

"Yeah." A dreamy look passed over Eugene's face, as it always did when he thought of his girlfriend of four months, "Well, why not? Sheena's a wonderful dancer."

Brainy tossed his gym bag into his locker and shut it. "And just as long as Phoebe doesn't volunteer Helga to help, everything will be fine." He turned, and raised an eyebrow at the varying levels of shock on his friends' faces. "What?"

"Helga Pataki dances?" Gerald asked incredulously.

"You didn't know that?" Brainy asked, and the guys shook their heads. "Oops. Well, I did."

It wasn't much of a surprise to them that Brainy would know something that private about Helga – they had become extremely close two years ago when the gang had entered high school. It was a somewhat disorienting change to witness: just two weeks before she had backhanded him, and suddenly they were spending lots of time together. When asked about the change, Brainy had simply shrugged and Helga had only said that he had helped her out of a jam. Whatever had happened, the friendship between the two and Phoebe had changed Brainy from a shy, almost silent entity to a much more confident personality with an entertaining if somewhat pun-riddled sense of humor. He had come out of his shell in a big way and now could be considered one of the few voices of reason among the old crowd

And now he was laughing. "What? She is really good – although now I hope Phoebe does convince her to dance. Otherwise, when you guys talk about it, she'll know I was the one who told you." He rubbed the bridge of his nose in a conditioned gesture. "And I like living."

The other guys looked like they had a few questions they wanted to ask, but then a warning bell rang and they began pelting out of the locker room in an effort to make it to their next class. Arnold lingered, having a free period along with Brainy, and waited for the other boy to sling on his backpack. "Does she really dance, Brainy? I can't believe I didn't know that."

"Like an angel." Brainy gave a knowing smile. "Which I'm sure you'd love to see."

Arnold's face flushed bright red as he followed Brainy out. Was his crush that obvious?

···

"So, that's it." Rhonda tapped her delicately manicured nails on the kitchen table before reaching for her gently steaming latte. "Simple – I just want a little exhibition dancing in the middle of the party to open up the dance floor. You get in, you dance, you get paid, you party. That's all."

Sheena smiled. "That shouldn't be a problem. We can practice a few days before the party together, can't we girls?" She took a sip of her tea.

"I don't see why not." Lila smiled, sweeping her thick auburn braid over her shoulder when the end threatened to dip into her hot chocolate, "But what sort of dancing did you want, Rhonda – singles or pairs?"

"Why not?" Rhonda waved her hand in the air.

Lila furrowed her eyebrows. "Which one?"

"Both. Why settle for just one?"

Helga folded her arms and looked at the hostess. "You didn't think this real well through, did you Princess?"

The four girls were sitting around Rhonda's kitchen table, drinking some warming drinks and discussing the party plans. After asking Sheena and bribing Helga, Rhonda had also sought out Lila to be the final dancer. Predictable, Lila hadn't needed much persuasion and had readily agreed to help out. Lila possessed a kind of innate grace that Helga used to envy but now secretly admired, and she was able to adapt to the other two's plans. _Maybe dancing won't be so bad if I have these two with me. _Helga no longer had a rivalry with Lila, and they had actually become friends – and it helped a lot that Arnold and Lila had displayed no romantic interest in each other since grade school.

_Not that I ever had a chance with him anyway, _Helga though to herself as she yanked her mind to the current situation.

Rhonda smirked. "It doesn't matter, Uni – all I want it to be is spectacular."

"Just spectacular?" Helga muttered to which Lila giggled, "Well, that should be easy."

"Anyway, do both. You can dance both, can't you?"

"Certainly." Sheena said.

"Of course." Lila smiled.

"Well, duh, Princess." Helga shot back, "but we need to find partners then."

Sheena blushed. "I could probably get Eugene to help out."

"Sheena, you could get Eugene to do anything for you!" Lila laughed, "I should be able to find someone – there's a really nice guy in my tap class I could ask."

"Ooh," Helga crooned teasingly, "he's 'really nice,' huh?"

"Is he cute?" Rhonda smirked, and Lila blushed violently.

"Girls, leave her alone," Sheena's voice broke through amusedly, "we'll meet him soon enough. How about you, Helga?"

Helga looked down at her coffee and stirred it, biting her lip in thought. "I'm not sure…" but then her face lit up in an epiphany. "Wait, I've got it!"

"You know someone?" Rhonda asked.

"Yeah, he'll be perfect!"

···

"Hey Arnold! Earth to Arnold, are you in there?" Arnold felt a hand grip his shoulder and shake it slightly, and he blinked out of his stupor, looking apologetically at Brainy.

"Sorry, guess I zoned out for a minute. Did any customers come by?"

"No, but last thing you need is for the boss to see you daydreaming." Brainy grinned as he grabbed a rag and began rubbing the glass trophy cases. Both of them worked at a local gym, and got along with their boss, but the guy was death on daydreamers. He wanted them constantly alert, which Arnold wholeheartedly agreed with, but he couldn't keep his mind from wandering…

"What's up Arnold?" Brainy asked concernedly, "You're really distracted today?"

Arnold shrugged. "I don't know, just life in general, I guess." Truth be told, his mind was still on his secret crush and imaginings of what she looked like dancing, but he wasn't telling Brainy that. It wasn't that he didn't trust Brainy so much as he didn't trust himself to keep his own secret.

Unfortunately for him, his secret was clearly obvious to Brainy, who was not fooled. However, he decided to play along. Without taking his eyes off the trophy case he was polishing, "So, you've seen Rhonda today, right?"

"No," Arnold replied as he adjusted the display of soccer balls perched at the end of the counter. "Why do you ask?"

"I was just curious – she came to rent out one of the dance studios today for dance rehearsal for her party. Sheena and Lila should be coming later on this afternoon." Brainy glanced over at Arnold, whose face was displaying nothing more than mild interest, and smirked internally as he continued, "And, of course, Helga's already been by…"

"What?" Arnold's head jerked up and his hands shot forward, knocking over the soccer balls in the display. In his haste to gather them, he crashed into the counter and went sprawling into a mercifully empty dirty towel basket. Brainy walked over and smirked as he leaned toward his embarrassing friend.

"So, I'm thinking it's not just 'life in general' that's got you distracted."

Arnold groaned and attempted to take a swipe at Brainy who easily dodged it, "You did that on purpose, didn't you?"

"Yeah, although I wasn't expecting that much of a reaction." Brainy said as he began reassembling the display. He turned to his coworker and reached out a hand helpfully. "You really like her, don't you?"

"Thanks." Arnold said as he accepted Brainy's hand and let him pull him out of the basket, and then he sighed, "Is it that obvious?"

Brainy smiled sympathetically, "I hate to say it, but yeah. We all see it, only Helga doesn't."

Arnold placed his palm over his eyes. "Wonderful."

"Why don't you just tell her, though? Put all of us out of our misery!" Brainy laughed, but there was no mistaking the compassion in his eyes.

"I can't." Arnold sighed, "I already ruined my chances long ago – back when we were in fourth grade. What's the point in hoping?"

Without being told, Brainy knew what he was talking about – the adventure when Arnold and Gerald had saved their neighborhood, with a lot of cloak-and-dagger help from Helga. Helga had been inadvertently discovered by Arnold in her assistance and in desperation to explain herself, she had blurted out the ultimate secret – she was in love with him. That, and she then gave him an extremely heated kiss. When the day was saved, both parties had agreed that it was a 'heat of the moment' thing and gone on their way as though nothing had happened. But something had. Arnold had discovered his own developing feelings toward her, and Helga had been so embarrassed that she'd hidden her feelings even deeper within herself.

Fortunately for all involved, Arnold and Helga had struck up a comfortable if somewhat tentative friendship, but the lingering tension between the two was plainly obvious for all to see. All attempts to prod one of the other into confessing had failed utterly; Helga was too protective of her heart to bare it again, and she was incapable of believing that Arnold's returning affection was composed of anything but pity. Arnold believed that his panicked response to her confession and acceptance of the 'heat of the moment' theory had forever ruined his chances for a romantic relationship. It would have been cute if it hadn't been so frustrating to their immediate friends, since they tended to be the sounding boards for the expressions for the frustrated emotions.

Actually, the emotions of the two were so identical to each other that the situation was laughable if Brainy had felt like laughing. _Phoebe and Gerald like to complain that they hear too much of this from their best friends – I'm the lucky one who gets it from __both__ sides. _Being one of Helga's best friends and Arnold's coworker meant he heard a lot of this. Constantly. It didn't help that often, their lamentations were word-for-word the same.

Add into the equation that Brainy had a long-held love for Helga himself, and the situation became even more difficult for him to be in. He'd accepted the fact that Helga loved Arnold, because he wanted her to be happy, but both of them were driving him nuts with the evasion of the issue. But at the same time, his shared love for Helga gave him a self-perceived kinship with Arnold and with complete empathy he placed a hand on his friend's shoulder.

"You haven't ruined it, Arnold. But you will if you don't get on it soon."

Arnold was taken aback, but all Brainy did in response was give him a _the truth hurts, doesn't it? _look before returning to his polishing.

"Is there someone else do you know?" Arnold sounded anxious

"No to my knowledge," Brainy replied, "But you should do something before that happens."

Arnold opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted when the voice of their boss boomed across the room. "Boys?" The two looked up at the muscular man as he leaned against the register. "I need one of you to run these," he nodded towards the case of water in his arms to room 105 quickly. The person who rented it out asked for water bottles to be included. Which of you will?"

"Oops." There was a crash near the trophy case, as Arnold and their boss looked over at Brainy who was looking apologetically at the overturned canisters of lanyards. "Not me, boss – I need to clean this up."

"I don't mind, Mr. Cardin," Arnold smiled and came around the counter, holding out his arms for the box, "I'll take it right away."

"Thanks," Mr. Cardin barked appreciatively, "just be sure to give it to – " he frowned, and snapped his fingers. "Hmm. Can't remember the name – who's in there now, Brainy?"

"Helga Pataki." Brainy grinned.

Arnold froze at the name, but their boss didn't notice. "Yes, yes, Ms. Pataki. Step on it now, Arnold."

"Sure." Arnold's cheerful smile lasted as long as Mr. Cardin was in the room and then he glared at Brainy who simply smiled back. "You set me up!" He hissed.

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"I'm going to get you back for this," Arnold groaned as he began walking towards the hallway.

He turned back to look at Brainy pretending to quiver with fear before he burst into laughter, and then stomped down the hall.

Room 105 wasn't far from the front desk, and Arnold was ready to put the water down quickly, knock on the door, and then walk back to give Brainy a piece of his mind. That had been the plan, but then he looked through the window of the door, and his brain stopped working.

Helga was dancing alone to some softly playing orchestral music – but 'dancing' didn't seem a sufficient word to him for what she was doing. Her eyes were blissfully closed, and her movements were completely free and flowing; she seemed like she was a personification of the music itself. He could feel his heart rising to his rapidly constricting throat and he couldn't breathe from the sheer beauty of the sight. She was grace, she was melody, she was elegance and he could feel his hand reaching for the door separating them. She leapt and her hair, unbound, trailed out like a golden trail of a shooting star behind her.

_Maybe Brainy is right,_ he thought to himself as he held the doorknob, _maybe I should tell her. _And then he saw something that made his hear sink as his fingers fell numbly from the doorknob.

Helga had come to a stop, laughing, and extended her arm out to the corner of the room and a young man quickly ran to her and took it. He spun her into his arms and together the two began fox trotting elegantly around the room. Arnold could not help noticing how handsome the other dancer was with his tall, trim build, dark hair and tan complexion, and a tightness that had nothing to do with Helga's beauty clenched his throat. It clenched even more when he saw Helga's face flushed with laughter and happiness as she gazed up – surely not admiringly – into her partner's face.

The music slowed and the two seemed to mold together, and a painful, hot anger shot through Arnold as the guy gently pushed Helga's head against his shoulder, only to be followed with a freezing pang of sadness as she let it stay there. Arnold's fist clenched in a mixture of anger and sorrow as he watched his love dance in the arms of another. _She couldn't…__like__ that guy, could she?_

Jealousy ran through his heart as he watched the guy twirl her out of his arms before lightly kissing the back of her hand. In the back of his mind, he knew he was being irrational – but he didn't care and shoved the voice away.

_Who is this guy, and what is he doing with my Helga_?

* * *

A/N: Gah! Cliffhanger, sort of. Who is this guy? Why does Helga look so cozy with him? What will Arnold do? (Luckily, I know the answers.) I still have questions about what they are wearing at the costume party, those have not been answered. Suggestions are most welcome!

Anyway, thanks for reading. I hope you enjoyed it!

Please please please review! They make me happy (and spur me to update more quickly.)


	2. Enter Rival

Greetings Readers! I hadn't planned to update so soon, but I got lots of reviews! Apparently people **really** like a jealous Arnold. Wow, and thanks a bunch - it made me write this a lot quicker... Thanks to all who have favorited and alerted this story.

A special thanks to those who reviewed:  
**NintendoGal55: **You're right! Although which guess is actually the right one will be revealed later. Thanks for the suggestions, they will come in handy! If only I could come up with good Helga and Arnold costume ideas.  
**cm512:** Thanks! I hope you enjoy this chapter.  
**acosta perez jose ramiro: **That is a good guess, but it's not Lorenzo...it's somebody I made up instead. But Lorenzo would have been a good idea. Thanks a lot!  
**Kpfan72491: **Gracias! Hope you like this one!  
**thecommonaubrie:** I guess it could be, I never thought of it! :) It does come before it time-wise, though. I hope you enjoy this chapter!  
**Blankasill:** Merci! I hope you like this!

Disclaimer: I do not own Hey Arnold! or its characters. Much to my sorrow.

* * *

Brainy sat behind the counter and waited for Arnold to return with some trepidation, but also amusement. He expected a stoic cold shoulder that would take an hour or so to defrost. He expected a very indignant Arnold to sputter frustrations at him until they both burst out laughing. What he did not expect was what happened: Arnold stalked over to the counter, his face stone-like and almost paralyzed with some unknown emotion, and sat with his back to Brainy, fumbling around with the newly washed athletic towels. Brainy frowned, something was very wrong. "Arnold?"

"Yeah." His voice sounded forced, thick with the unknown emotion.

"What's wrong?" Brainy hesitated, and then placed his hand on his friend's shoulders.

Arnold's shoulders sagged and his voice softened, although the pain in it was almost more difficult to listen to. "Brainy, did you know Helga's not alone in there?"

"No," Brainy creased his face in confusion, "did one of the other girls already show up?"

Arnold's posture relaxed even more, although the slump of his shoulders was more painful to see than his previous tension. "No, one of the other guys did."

"Guys?" Brainy looked even more confused, "They have partners?"

"Yeah – you didn't know that?"

"Didn't have a clue. I just knew that Rhonda was renting it for the rehearsals; I didn't know all of the people rehearsing."

Arnold sighed, and his voice sounded tired as he spoke, "I should have known – you wouldn't have done that to me."

Brainy was torn between confusion, concern and irritation. "You're not making sense. What happened?"

Arnold turned to face him, his eyes pained. "Helga was in there, dancing – you were right, Brainy," a dreamy look passed over his stressed features, "she dances like an angel – and I was going to tell her…you know. But then, some guy," his eyes flashed with anger, taking Brainy back at their intensity, "comes along and dances with her. Some complete, random stranger grabs her and starts dancing with her."

"A stranger?" A spurt of protectiveness, half brotherly and half romantic, filled Brainy and he straightened up, ready to help out Helga if she needed it, "Did he scare her or something?"

"No," Arnold's voice was almost bitter. "She looked like she was enjoying it." His fists clenched at the memory.

Brainy relaxed, it sounded like Helga would be okay then – not that she couldn't roundhouse any guy who made a move she didn't like, but he wanted her to be safe anyway. "Well, then what's the problem?"

Arnold gritted his teeth, "Because I don't know this guy – what if he ambushes her or tries to take advantage or something?"

"So," Brainy arched an eyebrow, "if she was dancing with someone we knew, you'd be cool with it?"

"Of course," Arnold said, and for a moment he almost believed himself.

Brainy didn't for a minute. "Right. Arnold, you'd be like this if anyone was dancing with her." He smirked. "You're jealous."

"I am not!" Arnold whispered hotly, a mortified blush spreading across his face, "Don't say that."

"Never thought that I'd ever see you jealous, Arnold." Brainy leaned against the counter. "And don't bother denying it, because you are."

Arnold groaned. "Fine. Just don't tell – " his eyes widened as he turned to face the counter, "uh oh."

Brainy likewise turned around to see what has caused the reaction – Helga and her partner were walking up to the counter. He glanced down at Arnold, who was scowling, and mentally sighed. _He'd better change that expression before Helga catches it._

Arnold wasn't thinking about the expression on his face as his entire thoughts were all focused on Helga and her joyous, flushed, laughing face as she smiled up at the guy she'd been dancing with. He had an arm around her shoulders, and Arnold seethed at the sight of that hand on his Helga's arm. What did she see in the guy? Why wasn't she kicking him in the teeth for touching her? She couldn't…want him to touch her, could she?

"Hey Helga!" Brainy's voice broke him out of his stupor, and he remembered to fix a smile on his face just in time. "How'd the practice go?"

"Great!" Helga said breathlessly, "If you don't count us being the only ones there."

"Well, we got some good moves planned, anyway." The mystery man smiled.

_What kind of moves do you mean, buddy?_ Arnold snarled.

"So, who left the water, Brainy?" Helga asked, "It really came in handy."

Brainy gestured towards Arnold, "He did – glad to hear you liked it. Did your friend appreciate it, too?"

"Oh!" Helga looked embarrassed, "I'm sorry – I forgot that you haven't met." She turned towards her partner. "Kurt, this is Brainy. Brainy, meet Kurt."

"Nice to meet you," Brainy reached out to shake the newcomer's hand, "Do you go to school around her? Don't think I've seen you before."

Kurt smiled, "Nice to meet you, too. No, I actually am in college right now – just came down to do Helga a favor." He noticed Arnold and looked over at Helga, "And who's he?"

"That's Arnold." Helga beamed.

"Hey Arnold," Kurt extended his hand again, "I've heard a lot about you – it's great to meet you."

Arnold gripped the offered hand, "Pleasure." Brainy glanced down; his voice was friendly enough, but his eyes were frozen and his teeth were clenched in a tight grin. But at least he was smiling.

The two let go, and Kurt gave a sharp intake of breath as he caught sight of his watch. "I'd like to talk and get to know you guys better, but we have to go, Helga."

Helga grabbed his arm to look at his watch and hissed in exasperation. "Agh! We have dinner with Big Bob and Miriam in thirty minutes!" She smiled apologetically at her friends. "Sorry, guys, we'll have to meet up later!" And with that she dragged Kurt out of the gym. Arnold didn't bother to suppress his growl as he watched them leave.

Brainy couldn't decide whether to laugh or smack Arnold for his less-than-admirable social behavior, so instead settled on a skeptical look that pierced Arnold. "Smooth, Arnold. Why didn't you just yell 'hands off my woman' while you were at it?"

"What?"

"I'm surprised that Helga and Kurt didn't catch on – I thought you were going to punch him when they showed up – and you hate violence." He wearily rubbed his forehead. "For her sake if not yours, try to keep yourself together the next time you see him."

Arnold gulped. He hadn't realized that Kurt would be coming back. "How long did Rhonda rent out the room?"

Brainy's look was nothing but sympathetic now. "For the rest of the week."

Arnold groaned and buried his face in his hands. This was going to be hard.

···

He had no idea what he'd done wrong in the past, but it must have pretty bad, because karma had been out to get him that week. Somehow, inexplicably, Arnold had had to be the one to deliver the water bottles to the rehearsals every day of the week, which meant that everyday he had to come face-to-face with Helga being happy with Kurt. It was actually somewhat ironic, since after that first day Brainy and Arnold had decided that they would work it out so that Brainy would always deliver it – but it never happened that way. Their boss would give them the bottles of inconsistent times that, for some reason, Brainy was never there; instead he'd been sweeping floors or cleaning bathrooms or running errands, leaving Arnold as the only viable candidate.

"It's almost like he plans it that way," Brainy mused aloud as he was checking the register before both signed off for the day. Arnold didn't answer, being too heavily occupied with fervently rubbing his eyes in an attempt to erase the image of his crush in someone else's arms from his memory. All the others had been there too, but somehow in the quick glance he threw at the door's window his gaze had immediately riveted on the two, seeing past the motion and color of the other pairs. He had remained transfixed there for far longer than biologically necessary – since he was unable to breathe as he watched, the impulse frozen by sadness and longing and envy. Only when he grew light-headed did he recall himself and hurry back to the desk.

Brainy watched his friend and sighed, "Arnold, you have to stop that. It's not healthy."

"What, rubbing my eyes?"

"Ha, ha. No," Brainy continued, "I mean acting like this. Sooner or later, someone beside me is going to catch on – and who knows if they'll keep it under wraps." He smirked, "Besides, given how clumsy you've been in the last couple of days, it's only a matter of time before you damage something crucial."

Arnold jumped up. "I have not been –" and then crashed into the side of the trophy case.

Brainy replied, "You were saying?" All he received was a frustrated groan in response. "Look, where's the considerate, logical Arnold we all know and love? This had been changing you. Seeing her like that hasn't bothered me nearly as much."

Dusting himself off, Arnold rose to his feet and asked, puzzled. "But why would it bother you?"

_Ah, now that would be telling,_ Brainy thought to himself as he shrugged. He loved Helga as much as Arnold did, but seeing her with Kurt didn't bother him nearly as much. Maybe it was because he'd resigned himself long ago that Helga loved someone else so his feelings would not be requited; Arnold hadn't had to. _Not that Arnold needs to know that._ "I don't know, but be careful okay? No need to estrange yourself from Helga because you can't be civil to her partner."

Arnold blanched. He hadn't thought of that possibility. "I'll try, I guess." He clocked out on the computer time clock, and swung on his knapsack. "Ready to go?"

"Yeah, hold on."

As Brainy clocked out, Arnold walked out from behind the counter just in time to nearly crash into Sheena as she loped up toward the desk. "Sorry, Arnold!" she gasped, "I just wanted to see if we could catch you before you left – we just finished rehearsal. We're heading off to Amici's, want to join us?"

_Us_? Arnold thought, and then noticed the other dancers, along with Rhonda and Phoebe, walking up to join them, with Helga and Kurt laughing at the back.

Brainy came around. "Sounds great." He elbowed Arnold none too gently in the ribs. "What do you think, Arnold?"

"Sure," he managed to choke out cheerfully, and Sheena beamed.

"Great!" Phoebe piped up, "Gerald and Harold are already there, saving us a table. Let's go."

Arnold winced at the thought of being in close proximity to Kurt, but a grim smile then crossed his features. Maybe he could use the opportunity to find out what this guy's game was.

···

Arnold was depressed. In the hour that the gang had been together, Kurt had become even more apparently perfect than before. He helped coax Lila's partner, Doug, out of his shell, discussed Broadway with Eugene and Sheena, talked baseball lineups with Gerald, and had jokes that had the group in hysterics. In different circumstances, Arnold would have loved to get to know the guy better – but while he could grudgingly admire how his rival fit in with the group, he could feel nothing but fury at the closeness between Kurt and Helga. He gritted his teeth and vigorously swirled the ice cubes in his glass of water to keep from saying something he'd regret.

His grip tightened on the glass when Kurt whispered something in her ear that made her turn bright red and giggle – actually giggle – before saying, "Stop! Don't say stuff like that!"

_What is he saying? Only I should be able to make her act like that!_ Arnold mentally growled, and then caught himself, somewhat ashamed. Brainy was right – this jealousy was not changing him for the better. But this was so hard – especially since Kurt seemed to be a nice, friendly person. Not that he wanted Helga to be in an unhappy relationship (he didn't want her in any relationship that wasn't him, but that was beside the point), but he had kind of relished the thought of being her rescuer. Arnold found himself slipping into a daydream where he, the knight in literally shining armor, fought the devilishly handsome villain to rescue the fair young damsel from his evil clutched. It especially go good when said damsel jumped happily into his arms and rewarded him with a very grateful kiss…

"Hey guys?" Kurt's smooth baritone voice shattered Arnold's daydream and he looked up. "I'm sorry, but do you know where the bathroom is? I don't want to ask the waitress."

"Sure," Gerald removed his arm from around Phoebe and pointed. "Just walk to the pillar in the back and take a right. Bathrooms will be right in front of you."

"Thanks." He got up and squeezed Helga's shoulder affectionately, "I'll be right back."

The girls managed to keep from talking until Kurt had rounded the pillar but it was with an obvious effort. "Oh my gosh, Uni," Rhonda said, "who is that hunk and where have you been hiding him?"

"Ugh." Gerald groaned good-naturedly, leaning against the back of his chair, "Girl talk."

Helga laughed, "I haven't been hiding him anywhere, Princess. He goes to college upstate."

"And he came down to help you out?" Sheena asked, "That's so sweet! And he really is a charmingly good dancer."

"Very helpful," Lila smiled.

"And his eyes!" Rhonda exclaimed, "Sooo dreamy."

Phoebe readjusted her glasses. "I agree. And his thoughts on Hungarian Philosophy are most fascinating.

"Uh-oh," Gerald growled playfully, "I'm about to get knocked out of the ring by a Hungarian philosopher – you're not falling for him, are you _kirei_?"

She giggled. "Of course not, Gerald! He's just very nice to talk to."

"Yeah," Rhonda grinned, "He's a catch, Uni."

Arnold waited for Helga to deny it, but she simply blushed, and he saw red that had nothing to do with the hue of her cheeks. The most random part of his mind pondered why a green-eyed monster could make on see red – was that proof that jealousy made one blind – color blind? He heaved a sigh at the Brainy-worthy pun, and wondered where that thought had come from.

The cell phone in Harold shirt pocket beeped and he looked at it before he cursed, eliciting a slap on the arm and a hissed 'not in public!' from Rhonda. "Sorry, but I have to go – I have to take over for Mr. Green in twenty minutes." Harold had begun an apprenticeship at the butcher shop the summer before. He stood up and pushed his chair in before turning to Rhonda, "Want a ride back home?"

"Sure." Rhonda also stood up. "I have to finish planning anyway – just three more days." She looked at the others. "Is that okay?"

There was a general assent, and the two left the restaurant. This led to a flurry of motion as the others at the table began shuffling thorough their wallets for tip money and getting up from the table. Before he could get a grip on it, the only people there were himself and Brainy. And Helga.

"You guys can go ahead," Helga waved a hand, "I know you had a long day of work, and Kurt should be out any minute."

_Leave you alone with him? I don't think so._ Arnold thought bitterly, and Brainy noticed the look on his face and stomped on his foot, serving not only the purpose of justifying Arnold's expression but also dragging him from his thoughts.

"That's fine, Helga," Brainy grinned, "We're just your two overprotective boys-who-are-just-friends for the evening. Besides," he crossed his arms and scowled teasingly at her, "I, at least, haven't seen much of you for the last week."

"Yeah, sorry about that." Helga smiled contritely, "We've just had to cobble this together at the last minute – so I haven't had a whole lot of free time." Helga shook her head. "I could kill Rhonda for putting it off for so long."

Arnold felt a flicker of hope. "So you haven't been having fun?"

The flicker soon died. "It's been great! It's always good to see Kurt."

Brainy noticed the other flinch and winced. Luckily, Kurt walked in before Helga noticed Arnold's feet falling. "Where'd everyone go?"

"Home." She stood up and walked over to him. "Which is where we need to go – Big Bob is expecting us for dinner." She flashed the other two an apologetic grin as she pulled him to the door. "After the party, you'll be seeing me a lot more, I promise! Bye!"

Both boys walked over to the window, and they saw Kurt open the car door for Helga before shutting it and getting behind the wheel. As the car pulled away, Arnold muttered, "Dinner with your parents again?"

"He seems like a good guy, Arnold."

"Yeah." Arnold agreed, hating it.

"But that doesn't mean you should give up." Brainy somehow looked both solemn and encouraging, and he patted Arnold on the shoulder before waving goodbye and walking off towards his house.

Arnold walked out of the restaurant and turned in the opposite direction towards the boarding house, mentally chewing at the possibility Brainy had given him. _But what should I do?_

It was only when he was standing in the lamplight in front of the boarding house that a plan of action occurred to him, and a determined smile spread across his moth. So what if it looked like he was losing at the moment, the battle was not over. Brainy was right – he wasn't going to give up.

He wasn't going to let Helga go without a fight.

* * *

A/N: So what is Arnold going to do to get Helga? I hope you enjoyed this!

Thanks again for reading!

Please please please review - they make me happy (and speed up updates).


	3. Two Left Feet

Greetings Readers! Here's the next part of Green-Eyed! Thanks so much to all who have favorited and alerted this story!

And thanks so much for the reviews! Wow, I was so glad to get them!  
**SerenityAndLuuvv: **Thanks very much! As to your guess, you actually find out if you're right in this chapter, so read on. I hope you enjoy it.  
**NintendoGal55: **Well, turnabout is fair play - sorry, Arnold! That is a good guess, and you'll find out soon if you're correct. No, she has no idea: I like the concept of a clueless Helga. And as we mentioned before, yes, I do love the mystery plot element - they're my Achilles heel; they're way too fun to write. I love your ideas for costumes - they shall be used! Thanks for all your reviews!  
**Kpfan72941:** Thanks; I hope you like this one, too!  
**thecommonaubrie:** Yeah, haha. Sorry about that - but you find out in this one!  
**loonytunecrazy:** I agree, poor Arnold. If only he wasn't so much fun to write this way...hahaha. Thanks!  
**CommanderApple:** Yup, Arnold is completely drenched, poor guy. tehehehe. And I'm glad you like the summary - I often find those are the hardest to write well, as you don't get a lot of space. I hope you enjoy this! Thanks!  
**acosta perez jose ramiro: **Yup...got to love karma. Bwahahaha. Thanks for all your reviews!  
**Lightness: **Thank you for both reviews! I hope that you enjoy this chapter as well!  
**call me Milo:** Jealous Arnold is a lot of fun. I hope that the wait was worth it!

Disclaimer: I do not own Hey Arnold! or any of its characters.

* * *

"You want to learn to do what?" Lila was too polite to show how shocked she was, so she settled for shifting her books in her arms as she moved closer to her locker for support.

"To dance." Arnold said firmly, "Can you teach me?"

"Well," Lila knit her eyebrows in thought, "I suppose – I don't have any tests or anything for a while, so my schedule's open. But why do you want to learn?"

Arnold looked indignant, "What, can't I say that I just want to expand my cultural horizons?"

"Hmm." Lila put the books in her locker and shut the door. "Well, you could…but I wouldn't believe it. come on, Arnold, spill."

Arnold sighed, "Okay, I want to learn to dance – so I can impress Helga."

"That's so nice…but why do you think you need to impress her?" Lila nearly added that he didn't have to do anything to impress Helga other than be himself.

"I don't know – I'd just like to do something." Arnold didn't bother to bring up his envy of Kurt; he was embarrassed enough about the 'impressing Helga' part.

"Well, okay." Lila replied, "What time works for you? We have rehearsal right after school, but that shouldn't take more than an hour or so. Do you want to meet right after that?"

Arnold nodded, "Sounds like a plan." He swallowed thickly before broaching the subject. "So…how much do you think I could learn in two days?"

It was fortunate that Lila had put all her books away a moment before, as her reaction of shock would have likely sent them flying in all directions. Both eyebrows were raised in surprise as she faced Arnold. "Two days? Why just two days?"

"That's when Rhonda's party is."

Lila folded her arms. "And just why do you need to learn by then?"

Arnold threw up his hands. "What other parties do we have happening around here? That's when I would actually need to know how to dance."

She gave him an appraising look, and if she still had questions, she didn't voice them. "I guess so."

Arnold beamed. "Great! See you after your rehearsal then!" and then he sprinted down the hallway to where Gerald was waiting. If Lila didn't know any better, she would have thought he had tried to click his heels together before crashing into the doorway.

Lila rubbed her forehead in a massaging gesture and sighed before turning and walking towards the front entrance. She had meant to ask what kind of experience in dancing Arnold had had, but he'd run off too soon. Her perpetual good humor came to her rescue, and she could feel the smile spreading across her face. _I guess it doesn't really matter, anyway. How hard can it be to teach him?_

···

Arnold was an extremely gifted person, with varied abilities. He was a methodical scientist and a creative logician. He was skilled in diplomacy on many levels, and his ability to empathize with and understand others was uncanny. He had both school smarts and street smarts, even if the last were distorted by his eternal optimism. Despite his modesty, everyone was aware of his gifts.

But he was probably the worst dancer Lila had ever seen.

With admirable self-control, Lila managed to keep from crying out in pain and vexation as Arnold stepped on her feet – again – but could not keep the wince from spreading across her face. Fortunately, Arnold was too busy staring at his feet in an effort to make the correct steps to notice, and Lila took the opportunity to take in a calming breath and let it out slowly. "Okay, let's go over the basics, one more time."

She stepped away from Arnold and began counting aloud. "5, 6, 5 6 7 8." Lila continued counting as she slowly moved through the steps of the simple dance she had been attempting to teach him for the last hour without any success. Arnold watched intently, but it was clear to her that he wasn't picking it up, and she couldn't see any point in continuing until she could figure out a way to teach him effectively. "Come on, Arnold, let's pack it up."

"What?" Arnold looked surprised, almost panicked. "But Lila, we can't! I can't dance yet!"

She tried to ignore the plea in his voice. "I'm really sorry, Arnold," she said sincerely, "but I've tried every way I can think of, and none of it's worked – you haven't picked it up."

"I'm trying!"

"I know you are," she replied, "but there's no point in squandering our energy in something that won't succeed yet." She scratched her forehead, and for a moment looked as tired as she felt.

Sympathy overwhelmed Arnold, and he felt guilty for making her spend all the time and effort on teaching him, and for making her feel bad for not being able to help. "I'm sorry, Lila, I'm just nervous, that's all. Your teaching's great – I think it's just hard for me to understand the guy's moves when a girl does them."

Lila cupped her chin with one hand in thought. "That's true – I hadn't thought of that. Oh!" Her face lit up and she snapped her fingers. "I've got it! Why don't I call in one of the guys to help?"

"Sounds like a good idea."

Lila walked over to her bag, which was on the ground beside the door, and pulled out her cell phone. "Let me call Kurt, he should be able to help us out."

"Kurt?" Arnold's voice cracked, which he quickly covered up, "Why Kurt?"

Lila raised an eyebrow, "Well, Doug has to work on a project for school, and Sheena dragged Eugene to find Halloween costumes, so he's the only guy left." She bent towards her phone and began to dial. "So, let me call him up real quick. I'm sure he wouldn't mind helping…"

"No!" The strength of Arnold's yell surprised him as much as it did Lila.

"Why not?"

Arnold searched his mind for a more neutral reason than, _I don't want the guy who took the girl I'm trying to win over to teach me anything. Besides, I might say something I'd regret._ Instead he said, "It's just…he and Helga have been getting on so well, I'd hate to ruin their time together." Saying those words was like swallowing a bitter pill that paralyzed his heart.

A dagger then went stabbing through said heart as Lila considered this and nodded. "That's very sweet, Arnold; you're right. I don't know when I've seen her this happy."

Arnold inwardly grimaced in anger and pain at the thought. _How can he make her that happy? He's only known her for a few days – I've known her much longer. She couldn't,_ his eyes widened, _love__ him, could she? _He shook his head, he had to keep focused or risk losing the goal.

To push the thoughts away, he held out his arms. "Ready to start again, teach?"

Lila smiled and walked up to Arnold, and began reguiding him through the steps. Like Arnold, she was unable to ignore a plea for help.

This time, though, she had a feeling her feet were going to pay the price.

···

Traffic at the gym had been unbelievably slow all afternoon, which logically could be considered a good thing when the usual workforce of two was reduced by half – less work for less people. But, Brainy decided, he would much rather have been overloaded with work instead of just sitting around bored, which had been his fate for the entirety of his shift. Four hours could really drag when there was nothing to do and the person who usually helped alleviate the boredom was off doing something else.

Brainy had just finished counting the ceiling tiles for the fifth time and was picking up a pencil to attempt the rubber pencil trick when he heard a door down the hallway close and his ears perked up. It had to be Arnold and Lila, none of the other rooms were being used.

He could hear Arnold sigh. "Well, that could have gone better."

"That's true." Lila agreed, and there was a rattle of keys as she presumably locked the rehearsal room door, "But I noticed some definite progress at the end. We'll just have to work extra hard tomorrow."

There were footsteps, and Arnold and Lila stood at the opening of the hallway, a few feet away from the desk where Brainy was standing. Lila waved to him, and he waved back. "You guys done?"

"For today, yeah." Arnold replied, swinging his backpack on his shoulder. "Sorry abou t abandoning you there, Brainy."

"Well, you should be." Brainy crossed his arms petulantly, but was grinning.

Lila's gaze was sympathetic. "Busy day?"

"I wish – it was the slowest I've ever seen. I was about to be bored to death."

Arnold looked guilty as he rubbed the back of his neck. "Sorry, Brainy. I wish I could stay, but I have to help Grandma with some errands."

Brainy waved him off. "Don't worry about it – the shift ends in five minutes anyway. Get out of here."

"All right, but I owe you one." Arnold laughed and then turned to Lila, "Want me to walk you home?"

"No," she smiled, "go on ahead. I need to sign the key in before I leave."

Arnold gave her a quick hug goodbye and waved at Brainy before running out the front door. Lila leaned against the hallway walls, and her smile slipped slightly as she closed her eyes. She then made her way over to the front desk, walking in a very peculiar manner – it took Brainy a moment to realize that she was limping with both feet. He shook his head in awe and amusement: even limping on both feet, Lila was still graceful.

She plunked the key down on the counter, and wearily reached out a hand. "Could I have the clipboard please?'

"Here." He reached up and grabbed the rental key clipboard from where it hung behind him and handed it to her. She quickly signed her name on the correct line, and he smiled down at her. "Rough day?"

"You have no idea." Lila laughed and sighed simultaneously. She cupped her hand in her hands. "I'm at my wits' end, Brainy – I've never had that much trouble teaching anyone." Her eyes widened in shame, and she slapped a hand over her mouth. _I can't believe I just said that!_

She looked up to see Brainy shaking with silent laughter. "It's okay," he said, wiping a tear of mirth from his eye, "I won't tell him – your secret's safe with me. But I'm sure he probably knows."

Lila shifted her weight and grimaced, and Brainy looked down at her feet with concern. "Is something wrong with your feet?"

"Arnold stepped on them," she flexed her foot and groaned, "several times. It's fine – I'll just need to rest them for a while when I get home."

"Hmm," Brainy bit his lip in thought, and then his eyes lit up. "Hold on a minute." He clocked out on the computer, and came around the computer to face Lila. He held out a hand. "Come with me."

"What?" Lila looked puzzled, "But what about the desk? Shouldn't you stay here?"

Brainy gestured through the window at a black-haired teenager who was about to enter the building. "He's about to relieve me anyway. Hey John!" he yelled, "I'm going to head off a little early today, okay?"

The teen flashed a thumbs-up at him, and Brainy grabbed Lila's hand. "Come on, let me show you something." He led Lila down the same hallway she and Arnold had just come from, and at the end they stopped at a door marked 'Employees Only.' Brainy pushed through it into a small lounge that was stuffed with worn but comfortable couches, and then had Lila sit down.

"Brainy, what are you doing?" Lila asked as Brainy walked into an adjoining room and out of sight.

"You'll see," his voice called back. There was a large clatter of motion, a metallic clang, and then a sudden hiss of water. She could hear Brainy groan, which was quickly followed by a great sloshing sound. A question was about to form on Lila's lips, but it died as Brainy lumbered in, an enormous metal tub of water in his arms that was giving off steam. He placed the tub in front of Lila and turned back to the other room. "Take off your shoes."

Lila pulled off her shoes and peeled off her socks. Brainy returned with a jar of green crystals and a stick. He poured a capful of crystals into the water, and stirred them into the hot water until they dissolved into a cloudy greenness. As he put the stick down, he caught a glimpse of Lila's feet and gave a low whistle. "Wow, he really did a number on them, didn't he?"

Her feet were mottled by green and purple bruises rising up on the smooth skin. Lila viewed them with interest. "Yeah, he did. It surprised me, actually, how clumsy he was. After that tango he danced with Helga during our April Fool's Day dance, I thought he just wanted a few pointers on his technique, not complete lessons."

Brainy shrugged. "Maybe that dance was a fluke." He pointed to the water. "Put your feet in there."

If Lila was hesitant to place her already injured feet in a pool of mysteriously colored liquid, she didn't show it. She slipped her feet and sighed with pleasure as her sore feet met with the almost-scalding water. She sagged slightly at the sensation, and her eyes closed blissfully; Brainy grinned at the obvious release of tension from her body. "Feel better?"

"Much." She replied, not opening her eyes, "Thanks."

"I thought it might help," he said as he capped the jar of crystals and dried the stick ff on a towel he'd brought along, "they seem to help a lot of the customers after a hard workout."

Her eyes opened. "These are for the customers?"

"Sure, why else would we have them here?"

"But, won't you get in trouble for using them?" Lila began shifting to move her feet our of the tub, as though if she moved fast enough, the crystals would return to the jar.

Brainy chuckled and gently pushed her feet back into the tub. "These crystals are set aside for the staff to use, so we're fine."

"Really?"

"Yes," he said, smiling, "so just relax."

"Okay," she sighed appreciatively, "this feels wonderful." She cracked an eye open and continued teasingly, "I don't suppose a foot rub comes with the package, does it?"

Brainy flexed his fingers, popping the knuckles, and smirked. "Why not?"

"Seriously?" She grinned.

"I've picked up a thing or two from the masseuses that work here – might as well use it."

"I'll keep that in mind," she said, but then frowned slightly. "But why are you doing this – not that I don't appreciate it."

"Consider it a thank-you," Brainy said, "for getting a lovesick, jealous Arnold off my hands for an afternoon."

"Jealous?" Lila's other eye popped open, "Arnold? But why?"

Brainy sat on the couch beside her, "Did Arnold tell you why he wanted to learn to dance?"

"Yeah," Lila nodded, " He wants to learn how to dance so he can impress Helga at the Halloween party."

"That's all he told you?" Lila nodded again, and Brainy shook his head, "Well, he didn't tell you that he mostly is doing it so he can show Kurt up."

"He's jealous of Kurt?" Lila asked incredulously.

"Yeah, since he and Helga have been so close…" A burst of laughter from Lila made Brainy jump. "What's so funny?"

Lila was laughing so hard that tears were pouring from her eyes. "I can't – believe – that he's jealous – of Kurt."

Brainy narrowed his eyes in confusion. "What do you mean?"

She calmed down, brushing the tears off her face. "Trust me, Arnold has nothing to worry about."

···

Never again, Arnold promised himself as he placed a jar of peanut butter in his shopping cart, would he agree to go grocery shopping for his grandma without taking the car. He had no idea how he was going to carry all this stuff home. He was mentally debating over whether or not to call Gerald to ask for help when he heard a girl squeal over in the produce aisle and his attention was distracted. _That sounds like Helga_. Abandoning the cart, Arnold leaned towards the shelves closest to the sound to listen more carefully.

"Stop it!" Helga said.

"Why should I?" A voice laughed, and Arnold recognized it as Kurt's.

"Because I don't want to do that!"

"So?" Kurt laughed again, somewhat sinisterly in Arnold's opinion. "You're going to do it anyway!"

"No!"

Arnold bristled. This guy was doing something bad to his Helga, and he wasn't going to stand for it. He ran quickly around the aisle, flexing his fists as he did so. It would give him the greatest pleasure to punch the slimeball in the face. He rounded the corner quickly, ready to spring into action to defend his crush and earn her undying admiration in one fell swoop, when he saw the two of them and froze.

Time itself seemed to freeze as his eyes fell on them – Kurt's arm around Helga's waist, holding her close, and Helga's hands were pressed against his chest. Thousands of thoughts rushed through his brain too quickly for him to think about them, and he was burning hot and freezing cold all at once – and no matter how hard he tried to open his mouth, no words would come out.

After a few millennia, or possibly just a few seconds, Kurt and Helga began moving. Helga tried to squirm out of his grip, and Kurt simply raised up his free hand, which was holding something, near her face. She tried to push it away. "Get that disgusting thing away from me!"

"C'mon, just smell it!"

"There is no freaking way that I'm smelling an onion – you know they make me cry." She pushed the hand away.

"You are no fun," Kurt smirked, returning the probably traumatized onion to the bin.

"Whatever," Helga stuck her tongue out at him, and then noticed the newcomer out of her periphery. Her face flushed at the sight of the crush, and she stopped moving. "Arnold?"

"Hey." It wasn't a lot, but it was all he trusted himself to say. His threat had pretty much closed up at the sight of Helga blushing in someone else's arms. His eternal optimism tried to argue that it might not be what it appeared, but he ignored it – what else could it be? "What's up?"

"Not much," Kurt shrugged, grinning.

"Not unless you count this idiot," Helga nudged the guy with her elbow before stepping away from him, "trying to force me to smell an onion – jerk!" She laughed. "So…why are you here?"

Arnold's ears weren't working well, and he hadn't heard much of what she'd said, but fortunately, he managed to respond. "Oh, you know…stuff."

He didn't respond intelligently, but at least he responded.

He blushed and rubbed the back of his neck. "I mean, shopping for Grandma. Speaking of which," he took a theatrical glance at his watch, "I'm running late – I'll see you later." And he ducked back around the corner, and managed to make it back to the cart before groaning in frustration and slamming his forehead against the handle of the cart. That could have gone better.

The other two watched him push the cart to the checkout counter, and when he'd gotten far enough away, Helga punched Kurt in the shoulder. "What are you, five?"

"Ow!" He smirked, rubbing his shoulder. "What?"

She glared, "You know what! Making me smell an onion? In public? How many times have I told you not to do stuff like that?"

Kurt crossed his arms. "How long have we known each other?"

Helga also crossed her arms; the resemblance was uncanny. "Way too long."

"And when," he spread out his arms, grinning, "in all those years, have I ever listened to you?"

She groaned and closed her eyes. "Never."

His grin grew. "So why expect anything different?"

Kurt had expected her to open her eyes and punch him like she always did in those kind of arguments, so his smile fell when she instead leaned against the cart and sighed. "But why did you act like that around Arnold? I must have looked so stupid to him."

"Hey," Kurt said reprovingly, "don't put yourself down like that."

Her eyes shot open. "Why not? He's bound to – I just looked like a complete idiot to the guy I wanted to impress most. He's the reason I wanted to do so well with this, remember? What's the point if he thinks I'm – " Her voice shuddered to a halt.

Kurt walked around the cart and pulled her into a comforting hug, something he hadn't been able to do since she was three and he was eight, back before guys had cooties. But she received it now, leaning her head on his shoulder, letting him rub her back in comforting circles. "I think you worry too much, Helga. He didn't look like he was thinking that – and he seems too nice of a guy to do that, anyway. If anything, he looked…" he paused, "Does he know who I am?"

She gave him the look that clearly labeled him a blockhead, "Of course he does – I introduced you two."

"But does he know we're cousins?"

Helga bit her lip in thought. "I don't think so…"

He waited for apprehension to dawn, but nothing happened. He grinned, "Helga, I think he's jealous."

"Jealous?" Helga's voice caught in her throat. "That's…" she caught herself; it wouldn't do to hope, "ridiculous!"

"Oh, I don't know…' Kurt mused as he let her go and walked over to the shopping cart, "that look on his face sure looked like it. And is it so hard to believe?" He arched a brow at her, "You're smart, funny, and nice to be around – when you aren't trying to kill anyone."

Helga grinned and punched him lightly in the shoulder. "You know, it's times like these that I'm glad we're related."

"Right back at you, cousin."

···

The water had long since become cold, but Brainy and Lila were still laughing.

"You mean – that Kurt's – her cousin?" Brainy choked out breathlessly.

"Uh-huh. I thought you guys knew that." Lila answered, calming down. "So there is no way that they'd be dating. Besides, if the incest wasn't enough to turn her off, he's also engaged."

"Poor Arnold," Brainy shook his head, "So he's been panicking for the last few weeks for nothing."

"Not necessarily for nothing…" Lila said, an uncharacteristically devious smirk spreading on her face.

"What do you mean?" Brainy asked.

"Look, we've been waiting for years for those two to make a move, and they never did." Lila said, "But now, Arnold's trying to win her – maybe he'll finally get around to actually confessing."

Brainy's face lit up. "It'd be about time! But," he looked at her, "it means you'd be sacrificing your feet for the next few days."

She gulped. "It's a sacrifice I'm willing to make." She grinned sheepishly. "But now that we're on the subject…" she pulled her feet out of the tub and wiggled her toes. "How about that foot rub we were talking about?"

···

Arnold walked over to his bedroom door, and leaned his sweaty forehead against the tall mirror there. He'd been practicing the dance Lila had shown him for hours, and even his eternal optimism couldn't hide the fact that he hadn't improved much, if at all.

_Is there even a point? She looks so happy with him._

He was weak enough to consider the point seriously for a few moments, but then shook his head furiously to clear it. _No. I've lost her once – I'm not going to lose her again._

Arnold swiped the sweat from his forehead and walked back to the center of his room. Staring his reflection straight in the eye, he straightened his shoulders and took a deep breath.

"And 5, 6, 5 6 7 8!"

* * *

A/N: So who figured out who Kurt was *before* I told you? Several reviewers did, so kudos to them! I actually was going to put it off for another chapter, but then figured I might as well put it here.

Besides, **Arnold** still doesn't know that! Which means that he's going to try and win her at the Halloween party. Will he dance? Will he show off? Will he make a fool of himself? What will Helga say? All these shall be answered in the next and final chapter of Green Eyed!

Thanks for reading, and please review! They make me happy (and speed up updates)


	4. Crash and Burn

Hello all! I'm sorry that this chapter took so long to get out - exams have been insane here. I am also sorry to say that this is not the last chapter, as I had originally intended it to be. It is the second to last chapter - next chapter is the last one. Thanks to all those who have favorited and alerted this story.

A special thanks to those who have reviewed:  
**NintendoGal55:** Thanks! 'Renowned?' Ah, shucks. *blushes* Arnold isn't about to give Helga up...but his method of trying to win her over is not without its bugs...you'll see.  
**thecommonaubrie:** Merci! Yeah, when I was writing out how Arnold came to Lila for help with his dancing, I felt like I had to point out the apparent anomaly between his tango and other dancing - when I come up with something OOC, I tend to try and justify it by coming out and saying it's out of character. Bwhahaha, very sneaky of me. BxL's relationship is starting to bloom, but they continue to be oblivious...which is fun for me. And yes, jealous Arnold is very hot!  
**Kpfan72491: **Thanks, and good guess! I hope you enjoy this chapter.  
**acosta perez jose ramiro:** I do enjoy twists, lol. Thanks very much!  
**ilovemaddy:** Gracias! I hope you like this chapter as well!  
**loonytunecrazy: **Yup, I don't know why it's so funny when guys try to learn how to dance to show off for their crushes and fail utterly. I may just be evil...I did like that it gave me the opportunity to write a little BxL fluff of sorts. Thanks for reviewing, and I hope you enjoy this!

Disclaimer: I do not own Hey Arnold! or any of its characters. Sigh.

* * *

Phoebe bit her lip anxiously as she leaned against the park bench and folded her arms. "I don't know about this…"

"Come on, Phoebe," Lila said coaxingly, turning to face her hesitant friend, "it's not a bad idea – and it could solve our problem."

As Arnold was practicing his dancing at home in order to put his plan to impress Helga into action, his friends were formulating a plan of their own. Upon hearing Lila's idea for getting Arnold and Helga together, Brainy had insisted on calling in back-up. He'd called Gerald, Lila had called Phoebe, and the four decided to meet at the park about halfway between the gym and Phoebe's house to rally the forces and compose strategies. Gerald was immediately enthusiastic about the plan, but Phoebe seemed uneasy.

"It's not that I don't want them to get together," Phoebe said slowly, "I do. And your plan's a logical one, but…" she sighed, "I don't like the idea of deceiving him. He sounds so hurt already."

Gerald leaned over the back of the bench, where he was standing with Brainy, and gripped her shoulders reassuringly. "But Phoebe, it's only for a few more days."

"And it's not like we're lying, really." Brainy reasoned, "We just let them assume things that they've already assumed – and just omit certain details." Phoebe still looked unsure, and so he continued, "Besides, we wouldn't make him think things he was thinking already."

"Please, Phoebe?" Lila pleaded, "Don't you want to see them happy?"

That did it; Phoebe couldn't go against the plan if following through with it would make her friends happy in the end. She nodded, "Okay, let's do it."

"Great!" Lila beamed. "All right, we've only got two days left, so we'd better make the best of it. I'll convince Rhonda and Sheena that we need an especially long practice the day of the party, so Helga will be away all day. When you guys go get Arnold, answer his questions if he has them about Helga but keep them vague."

Brainy spoke up. "And I'll do the same at work…and I guess we can play that up at the party until the dancing starts."

"Mm, mm, mm," Gerald hummed in satisfaction, rubbing his hands together, "I hope this works, Brainy, I'm getting tired of Arnold being all lovesick."

"It'll work." Brainy said confidently, "I'm sure of it."

There was still a degree of worry in Phoebe's eyes, and Lila patted her shoulder. "Don't worry, Phoebe – the way this plan goes, no one is going to get hurt." She stood up to stretch her legs and somehow managed to hit the more sore spots on the soles of her feet, and gasped in pain. Brainy managed to grab her before she crumpled to the ground, and helped her back to the bench. She laughed, "Besides me."

"What's wrong with your feet?" Phoebe asked alertly, her voice tinged with concern and a medical curiosity that would prove useful in her planned career as a pediatric surgeon. Lila said nothing, instead pulling off her sock to show bruise-mottled skin. Phoebe gave a hiss of sympathy pain and examined the foot more closely.

"How did you get all those bruises?" Gerald asked concernedly.

"I'm teaching Arnold how to dance."

"Oh." Comprehension dawned on both Gerald and Phoebe's faces.

That explained it.

**···**

Arnold took a deep breath and gave an appraising look at himself in the mirror. He was dressed up for the party as Indiana Jones, and was wearing the long khaki pants and shirt. A long whip that he had borrowed from the drama department hung in a coil from a loop on his belt, the loop hidden beneath the black tail of his leather jacket. He nervously readjusted his clothes until it met his approval, and then turned towards the dresser. Arnold's breath caught slightly in his throat as he picked up the final piece of the costume and gripped it tightly in his fingers.

The fedora was anything but new – its felt discolored, the brim ragged, the ribbon sagging slightly, and when he tapped it nervously against his thigh, a slight cloud of dust rose up from it. But in all its disrepair and obvious age, Arnold wouldn't have used another hat for anything. The fedora had been his father's.

It had been an enormous surprise to both Arnold and Grandpa when they found in while cleaning out the attic. For years, Arnold had resigned himself to having only his hat, a picture, and a diary as physical mementos of his parents – but when moving some of his grandmother's martial arts gear, the hat had come loose from its imprisonment between some packing boxes and fallen onto his back. Once they'd figured out what it was, Arnold hadn't let it out of his sight for the rest of the day, and it had become a compulsive habit to run his fingers across the brim when he was stressed. It was as though he could feel his father's warmth from when he wore it, and the concept was soothing.

Now, he slung on the hat as though he was a warrior strapping on his armor. _Something tells me I'm going to need your support today, Dad._ He smiled sadly at how the hat fit comfortably on top of his head, and his mind wandered. _She's a really amazing girl – I wish you could meet her. I wish you were here to give me some really embarrassing pep talk._ He sighed._ But I guess this'll have to do._

Arnold gave the hat a decisive tweak and then left the room, turning off the lights.

Gerald had been about to lean on the horn when Arnold came out of the boarding house and down the steps to where the car was waiting by the car. Both he and Phoebe, who had been sitting in the front seat, got out of the car to greet Arnold. Phoebe grinned at him, "You look nice, Arnold." And then shivered.

"Thanks," Arnold said, preoccupied, and then his eyes narrowed in concern. "Are you cold, Phoebe?"

She shivered again. "Just a little bit." Phoebe giggled, "Although I really don't know why – I'm completely covered." Phoebe had dressed as a ninja, with only her eyes revealed to the public – the rest of her was wrapped snugly in black fabric and a saber hung loosely from a sheath on her waist. It came as no surprise to Arnold that the saber was genuine; Gerald had told him that the docile, almost shy girl was actually an expert in several martial arts and had some traditional weapons at home. He'd shuddered when relaying that information, and Arnold had laughed himself senseless when Gerald had told him about what had happened when he'd been an hour late for one of their dates.

"She was livid, man. Came after me with the bo staff and really let me have it. I don't know if my ankle will ever be the same…"

But now, she looked completely harmless, and Gerald chuckled affectionately as he pulled his tan robe off and draped it around his girlfriend. "Yeah, but it's thin fabric, _kirei_," he smiled, "wear this until we get there." She blushed and gave him a grateful kiss on the cheek. Gerald was dressed as a Jedi, and was warm enough without the robe. His light saber banged against his hip as he opened the back door for Phoebe to get in.

"Why are you moving to the back, Phoebe?" Arnold asked, and then his face lit up, "Is Helga going to sit there with you?"

Phoebe had waited until both guys had gotten into the car and Gerald had started the engine before answering. "No, I just thought you boys would like to talk – we won't be seeing Helga until the party. Actually," she rubbed her concealed chin thoughtfully, "I haven't seen her all day."

"Oh." Arnold's face fell noticeably.

"Yes," Phoebe mused, "in fact I haven't seen her since Kurt grabbed her yesterday – and today she's been so busy with practice."

Out of the corner of his eye, Gerald could see the conflicting emotions warring on Arnold's face and smirked internally. His _kirei_ would have made a good ninja – small, subtle and deadly.

Arnold did not realize at how easily readable his emotions were and silently fumed, leaving Gerald and Phoebe to carry on the conversation between the two of them. His thoughts were muddled, foggy, and made him oblivious to his surroundings. Gerald had to punch his shoulder when they arrived at the parking lot of the building where the party was being held – otherwise, he probably would have been in that same position for the entire party.

They were fairly early when they arrived, a few minutes before the party was technically supposed to start, but all three were nearly blown backward by the blast of music and voices as they opened the door to the ballroom where the party was located.

"Guess nobody here heard about being fashionably late," Gerald muttered out of the corner of his mouth, and the other two laughed.

"There you are!" They heard an imperious voice call, and Rhonda walked over to them. The rich red satin of her ball gown trailed behind her, the hue matching perfectly with the most-likely-real ruby in the center of her tiara. Her typically proud, imperious profile was even made more regal with the addition of finely crafted earrings and the other trappings of a Elizabethan monarch. As per usual, the resident princess was living up to her nickname in style.

"Hello, Rhonda." The skin around Phoebe's eyes crinkled as she smiled, "Thanks for inviting us."

Rhonda waved a hand in the air. "How could I not?"

"I'll say." Gerald smirked. "Since you must have invited the rest of the school – only way it could be this loud."

Rhonda shrugged, "With a room this big, why try not to fill it?" More people walked in, and her attention was diverted. Gerald took the opportunity to drag Phoebe down the stairs, and Arnold followed them, grinning. Gerald could only take Rhonda in small, diluted doses.

The ballroom floor was alive with people laughing, talking, and eating. As Arnold walked down the wide staircase down to the floor, he cast an interested look over the orange and black streamers and banners draped across the walls, and the strategically placed jack-o-lanterns. In an almost superstitious hesitation to get on the dance floor too early, he edged his way over to the snack table to get something to drink – his throat was painfully dry at the thought of trying to impress Helga.

A person with an unruly shock of white hair was standing by the glass punch bowl, idly stirring the orange and green liquid with a ladle. At Arnold's approach, the person turned and was revealed to be Brainy, dressed as a mad scientist and very much looking the part as he continued to stir the brew with a smirk on his face. "Hey, Indiana. How's it going?"

"Fine, I guess," Arnold said smiling, "I was just coming to get something to drink."

"Oh," Brainy took a protective stance over the punch bowl, "well, I wouldn't drink this if I were you."

"Really?" Arnold raised an eyebrow, "Why's that?"

Brainy pointed off into the distance, "Because that's what happened to the last person who drank the punch."

"MY PRECIOUS!"

Arnold had to bite back a laugh as he looked towards the source of the yell. "That's an interesting costume choice."

"My precious!" Curly-as-Gollum had located Rhonda and was attempting to fling himself upon her, much to her dismay.

Both boys started laughing, and Arnold pulled the ladle from Brainy and poured himself some punch. "But he was like that before – I don't think it was the punch."

"True." Brainy grinned.

"So…have you seen Helga?" Arnold attempted to sound nonchalant but failed utterly.

Brainy's mouth twitched slightly, but otherwise gave no indication that he saw through Arnold's question. "No, I haven't," he looked back, "Hey Harold! You know where the dancers are at?"

Harold lumbered up to the table and grabbed a cupcake. "Nope," he shoved half of it into his mouth and chewed appreciatively, taking care not to smear the pastry on his shirt or the bolts he'd pasted to the sides of his neck – his bulky but muscular form made a fairly believable Frankenstein. "Rhonda's way too secretive about that – has to go for the 'wow factor.'" His voice hit a surprisingly high pitch as he imitated his girlfriend, and the others snickered.

"When's the dancing going to start, anyway?" Gerald asked as he walked up and swiped a cookie.

"Attention everyone!" Rhonda's voice boomed through the PA system.

"Now, I think." Brainy laughed.

"I would like to draw your attention to the center of the dance floor," Rhonda continued, "where, for your entertainment, there shall be a dancing demonstration – after which the floor will be open for all to dance."

There was a polite patter of applause, and then the entire room went dark.

A single spotlight came up on three figures standing side by side, and slow, somewhat eerie music began to play. The three girls began to twirl and dip in unison, and another spotlight came onto them, illuminating the individual appearances. All three moved with equal grace and elegance, but Arnold didn't see any of them except Helga. He stopped breathing as he watched her elegantly bend and dip, her golden hair catching the light and shimmering. Arnold could've watched her dance forever – but then the guys came out, and he wished it would stop. It was too painful to see her sliding into Kurt's arms, to watch them move as though they were one, to look at Kurt's hand resting at the back of her neck like it belonged there – but he couldn't look away.

His head throbbed and pounded with a myriad of painful emotions, and his heart sat still and heavy as a stone in his chest. As the music and dance glided to a halt, the pounding of his head steadfastly continued – and it only intensified as Kurt bent over her hand and kissed it.

The rest of the partygoers spilled onto the dance floor and began moving to the more modern music. Arnold remained frozen until Lila walked up with Eugene and Sheena and she stepped on his foot. Hard. "Ouch!"

Lila smiled innocently, a smile that was perfectly in tune with her pristine white robe and golden halo but completely at odds with her actions. "Well, it's only fair – you've been stepping on my feet constantly. Besides, you completely zoned out on us there for a minute."

"Huh?"

Sheena tucked a long strand of hair behind her ear, the long sleeve of her hippy costume whipping through the air. "It's true, Arnold. You looked like a statue. Why don't you go on out and dance?"

Arnold took a deep breath. "I was just about to."

"Well," Lila wheedled, prodding him in the back towards the dance floor, "go on ahead. Show her what you can do."

"Right." Arnold strode out onto the floor towards where Helga and Kurt were dancing. Phoebe came over to where the others were standing at the snack table, and all watched Arnold's progress across the dance floor.

Helga was laughing hard at one of Kurt's jokes – somehow, her cousin always knew just what to say to make her laugh – and almost missed the greeting from Arnold. Even so, she nearly missed it in the blast of the music, only truly noticing him when he started to dance.

It was by no means elegant, but at least it was a dance, and he hadn't stepped on any toes. Helga and Kurt both stopped dancing and watched Arnold instead, Helga starting to blush at the proximity of her crush and Kurt smirking at her blush and at Arnold's obvious attempt to impress her.

Unfortunately, Arnold saw the smirk as a challenge.

"Not too bad." Eugene commented from the sidelines.

"Nope, not at all," Lila observed, "He should be fine as long as he doesn't – " she stopped mid-sentence and slapped her palm over her face. "Oh no."

Arnold had grabbed the bullwhip form his side and began twirling it in an attempt to show off – the one move Lila had absolutely forbidden him to make. He'd tried it several times, only to always fall flat on his face. But Arnold was too jealous and bent on besting Kurt that he'd either forgotten her warning or chose to ignore it. Flushed by the smile he was getting from Helga, he shot a smug look at Kurt…

Only to get distracted, allowing the whip to snarl around his legs, effectively binding them together. He crashed face first onto the ground with a loud noise that made nearly all the dancers look in his direction. All the euphoria Arnold had just experienced drained from him in an instant, leaving him embarrassed and humiliated. _Of all the people I had to fall in front of,_ he mentally groaned, _why her? Why?_

He picked himself off the floor with as much dignity as he could muster, keeping his eyes riveted to the ground, and then ran over to one of the balconies overlooking the city. He didn't see Helga's concerned expression or the hand she reached out in assistance, nor hear her whispered "Arnold."

The friends over at the snack table were all stuck in a sympathetic wince as they watched Arnold crash and run. Lila, feeling guilty, started to follow him out, but Brainy put out a hand to stop her. As she gave him a confused look, he nodded sagely at Helga, who was rapidly following Arnold.

"I think she has covered."

* * *

A/N: Ouch. Arnold completely blew it in front of the entire school and the girl he was actually trying to impress. Is he forever doomed to suffer from unrequited love? (Okay, you probably can guess the answer to that question...) What is Helga going to do? Tune in for the final chapter to see the answers to these questions (really this time.)

Anyway, thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed it. And please review! They make me happy (and speed up the final update)


	5. If You Love Her

Hello all! Welcome to the final chapter of _Green Eyed_! Thanks for reading, and thanks to those who have favorited and alerted this story!

A special thanks to all who have reviewed:  
**thecommonaubrie:** Thanks! They do hang out a lot, but they don't get to see each other most of the time - that, and it builds dramatic tension. Poor Arnold...although he won't be sad for much longer. I hope you enjoy this!  
**star123:** Thanks so much! Here's the update - I hope you like it!  
**Kpfan72491:** Yup, I sure give Arnold the gears in this story. Gracias!  
**NintendoGal55: **He doesn't get quite that mopey...but he does end up in the pits for a bit. Am I getting too predictable? lol Yes, I did use the ideas - thanks for them, and I'm sorry I forgot to thank you in the last chapter...I shall remedy that in a little bit. I hope you enjoy!  
**acosta perez jose ramiro: **Yeah, they mean well but it really is not their best idea...oh well. Thanks for all your reviews! :)  
**Loca4Anime:** I'm glad you liked the costumes - I actually got several of the ideas from NintendoGirl55, but some are my own. She actually is wearing a costume, read on to see what it is! Yeah, I like Phoebe's pet name too, heehehe. Here's the final update! I hope you like it!  
**strawberry: **Thank you! That's very flattering - here's the update. I hope you enjoy it!

And a belated thank you to **NintendoGal55** for the costume ideas for Sheena, Rhonda, Brainy, and Harold!

Disclaimer: I do not own Hey Arnold! or any of its characters.

* * *

The grinning, glowing face of the jack-o-lantern seemed to smirk at Arnold's misfortune from its perch on the balcony rail, and Arnold felt an urge to smash it. It wasn't fair for him to take out his aggression on an innocent gourd – even if its expression was too cocky for its own good. The last few moments played over and over in his head in excruciatingly slow, exaggerated detail, and he was blinded by hot, angry tears. He clenched his fist on the brim of his fedora and nearly threw it off the balcony in frustration, but fortunately came to his senses before he had a chance to let go of it. Arnold rubbed the felt apologetically and pressed it to the bridge of his nose. _I'm sorry, Dad. I'm just so mad_, he groaned, _and now I've ruined any chance I had with her._

But maybe that was the point. Maybe he wasn't supposed to be with Helga like he'd thought, and maybe Kurt was better for her. She certainly seemed very happy whenever he was around, and Arnold wanted her to be happy – although he would have preferred for her to be happy with him instead. Maybe he should just give up…

Arnold loved Helga – that would never change – but he would have to make himself let her go. What was that saying? 'If you truly love something, let it go?' He loved her, so his path was now clear. It sounded so noble, so easy.

He dropped his head into his hands. This was going to be hard.

Helga walked silently out onto the balcony, and paused at the doorway. Arnold looked as handsome as ever, his compassionate, masculine profile made sharper in the moonlight and the glow of the pumpkins, but he also looked completely dejected and it sent a pang through her heart. She dithered about for a few minutes, and then resolutely stepped over to the bowed figure and placed a hand tentatively on his shoulder. "Arnold?"

Arnold jerked slightly from surprise, and his gaze met hers. He gulped slightly and shut his eyes. _That just isn't fair._

Helga was dressed as a secret agent and looked absolutely beautiful – he'd been so busy admiring her dance that he hadn't really paid attention to what she was wearing, but now he was completely dumbstruck. Helga was wearing a body-covering jumpsuit of red and black silk, which showed off the contours of her slim, strong body in a modest but extremely attractive way. The bottom of the pants flared out slightly and her feet were encased in beautiful silver heels. _I never knew her feet were so dainty, _Arnold mused dazedly, staring at her toes.

"Uh, Arnold?"

Arnold whipped up to look straight into her eyes and blushed violently. _Oh, great, I was staring at her feet – in case I didn't look like enough of a dork before…_ It really wasn't fair; he had just resolved himself to let Helga go and be happy without regret (or at least not a lot of regret), and she just had to show up then, looking beautiful and deadly, as though to rub that fact in his face.

He must've done something really bad for karma to keep doing this to him.

Normally, Helga would have been swooning at the sensation of being so close to Arnold alone and being able to look at the smooth, debonair handsomeness of his face and how his hair caught the moonlight, but she was too worried about his taciturnity to enjoy it. "You okay?" She winced. _Okay, could have chosen a better way of phrasing that._

He shrugged one shoulder, turning his face resolutely towards the city. "Yes, I'm fine."

Unfortunately for Arnold, Helga was far too adept at hiding emotions to be fooled when someone else was trying to keep their own under wraps; besides, Arnold had a habit of wearing his big heart on his sleeve. She knew he was upset, even if she didn't know why, and it broke her heart. She bit her lip and then walked over to lean against the rail besides Arnold, clearing her throat to speak. She spoke out over the city. "It's okay, Arnold. I don't think anyone noticed besides me."

_Yeah, just the person I was trying to impress._ Arnold gave her a weak smile.

Helga leaned her elbows on the rail, propping her chin in her hands. "Don't let it bug you, Football Head – no one will remember it by tomorrow, anyway."

_Oh, trust me, I'm going to remember this for a __long__ time,_ Arnold mentally muttered, but tried to make his smile appear more genuine. Helga frowned and put her hand sympathetically on his shoulder, "Come on, Arnold, talk to me."

Arnold shuddered slightly at the weight of his hand on his shoulder, and tried not to think about how the warmth of her palm traveled through his jacket and into his shoulder. The longer it lay there, the more he had to fight his impulse to turn around and kiss her senseless – but he couldn't give in. He'd lost that right long ago.

"Helga, don't worry. I'm fine. Go on back in, you shouldn't keep your boyfriend waiting." Despite his best attempts to avoid it, Arnold heard the intense bitterness of his voice as he said 'boyfriend' and cursed himself for it. _Real subtle…_

"Boyfriend?" Helga sounded completely puzzled, and she took her hand off his shoulder. "Who are you talking about?"

Arnold tried to sound nonchalant through his gritted teeth. "Kurt, of course. Who else would we be talking about?"

Helga blinked. Several times. And then burst out laughing.

Arnold grimaced, and squeezed his eyes shut. _Does she __have__ to laugh?_ It already felt as though he had ripped his still-beating heart from his chest with the word 'boyfriend' and now Helga was, with every laugh, dancing upon it, crushing it into the dirt – with her lovely, dainty feet…_Focus!_ He reprimanded himself.

Helga wiped a tear from her eye. "Football Head, Kurt is my cousin."

Arnold's eyes shut open. "What?"

"Kurt is my cousin from upstate. He just came to help me out with this dance while on his school break." She grinned, "First person I thought of, because he helps his fiancée with the salsa classes she teaches." Her eyebrows furrowed. "You thought he was my boyfriend?"

Arnold didn't respond for a moment. At those liberating words, a wide-open vista lay before him, the stars shone brighter, the air felt lighter, and he was pretty sure he heard the Alleluia chorus playing somewhere – probably in the back of his head. When he managed to clear his head from the wonderful airiness, he spoke. "Oh. Yeah."

Helga laughed, "Why would you think that?" She suddenly looked puzzled. "And why would it bother you that I did?"

He was taken aback at her accurate reading of his emotions, and then stared into her face. Intoxicated by the sudden relief of knowing that Kurt wasn't her boyfriend, Arnold lost his inhibitions –

And kissed her.

Helga's eyes widened almost painfully, but then slid closed as she began to respond to the kiss. Just when her eyes closed Arnold recalled himself, his eyes popped open, and backed away. Face flaming, he shot an apologetic look at her. "I'm sorry," he murmured, "it's just…I love you, Helga." He started to turn to walk away, continuing, "I shouldn't have forced myself on you, but I just couldn't hold back any longer." And he began to retreat.

"Just where do you think you're going?" Helga put a hand on his shoulder to stop him, and turned him to face her.

Arnold noticed the face glistening in her eyes, and his heart clenched in concern. "Helga?"

"Idiot." She smiled through her tears, her voice nearly a whisper. "I love you, too."

In keeping with his unusually impulsive behavior of that night, Arnold found himself holding Helga in his arms and bending down to touch his lips with hers. Helga jumped slightly from astonishment, but quickly relaxed into the kiss, winding her arms around his neck. He pulled her even closer to him and tightened his hold on her waist as her hands reached up from his neck to twirl strands of his hair through her fingers. The sounds of the party roared in a muffled fashion in their ears, and the chill breeze picked up, almost blowing Arnold's hat off, but the two were too absorbed in each other to notice or care. The kiss was slow and sweet, stoking a soothing flame within them that warmed every inch of their bodies.

They pulled apart for air, and their breath fogged into the October air. Helga smiled. "Well, that took long enough." Then she clapped her hand over her mouth. _I can't believe I just said that!_ Between the cold air, her flush from the kiss, and the embarrassed blush, her face was so red that it looked as though it were about to burst into flames.

Arnold simply laughed and pulled her into a hug, resting his chin on the top of her head. They stood like that for a long time that seemed only seconds, and then Helga stepped away from him. Threading her fingers through his, she began pulling him towards the party.

"Come on, Arnold, let's go dance."

"Oh, no," Arnold replied, pulling his hand from hers and waving both hands in front of him in a gesture of defense. "You saw what happened last time – I've humiliated myself enough for one day."

"But Arnold…"

He crossed his arms. "I'm sorry, but no."

She looked up to him. "Please?"

Arnold gulped – the look in her eyes was sad, hopeful, and slightly pleading; and he could feel his defenses melting in its wake. He groaned. _Something tells me that look is going to be the death of me._ "Sure, if you really want to."

"Good!" Helga grabbed his hand and essentially hauled him bodily to the dance floor, although she did keep to the edges to make Arnold feel more comfortable. "Would you like to lead?"

He gave her a cocky but somewhat nervous grin, "You sure you trust me?"

Helga placed his hands around her waist and then wrapped her arms around his shoulders. "To the ends of the earth."

Arnold should have felt more nervous, but once he felt her arms around him and he held her close, all his fears went away. He simply stared into the peaceful warmth of her beautiful arms and smiled down into her blushing face. He didn't even notice when Helga began gently moving to the slow music, not even when he began swaying in unison with her. He couldn't hear the music, too busy listening to the beat of his and hearts and the sound of quiet laughter mixed in with her breathing.

The group of friends by the snack table began a raucous celebration as they saw the two dancing together at the fringes of the dance floor – Kurt included, as he had walked over to join them after Helga had pelted after Arnold.

"About time!" Gerald exclaimed.

"Yeah, I'd say our work's about done." Brainy agreed.

Kurt raised an eyebrow, "Your plan was to get Arnold to humiliate himself in front of my cousin so that they'd finally spill their feelings?"

"No," Lila answered, "he did that all on his own."

"Oh," Kurt started laughing, "ah, to be young and in love. Speaking of which," he said as he reached down for his cell phone that had begun buzzing in his pocket, "that should be my fiancé now." His eyebrows furrowed as he held the phone poised in his hand. "Do you think it'd be okay if I took this? I might need to head back to Helga's house – could you have her call if she wants a ride home?"

"We will," Phoebe piped up, "but I think she'll be fine with us."

Kurt nodded in thanks and then waved goodbye to the younger teens before walking to a quieter spot. Sheena and Eugene walked off to the dance floor and began dancing next to where Harold had finally gotten Rhonda to relax and dance at her own party, and Lila watched them leave. She turned to face Brainy. "Do you want to dance?"

Brainy smiled. "Didn't you come with your partner Doug, though? Where's he?"

"Dancing with his girlfriend," she grinned back, "he was just helping me out." She began pulling on his sleeve. "Come on…"

"But – I can't dance!"

She continued dragging him off to the floor. "I taught Arnold, I can teach anyone. Let's go."

If he protested any longer, it wasn't loud to be heard by Phoebe or Gerald from the sidelines, and soon Brainy was moving clumsily to the music, listening to Lila's instructions. Phoebe got a curious look on her face as she watched them, and her boyfriend noticed.

"Oh, _kirei_," Gerald groaned good-naturedly, "don't even think about it. I think we've had enough match-making for one day. Come on," he began steering her towards their friends, "we need to go and dance."

Phoebe smiled up at him, shoving the ideas of getting those two together in the back of her head. She supposed it could wait.

After all, there'd been enough lovesick teenagers at this party already.

**···**

Arnold and Helga had turned their friend's offer of a ride home in lieu of deciding to walk instead, and together they walked in the darkness of the city, only lit by streetlights, curtain-drawn houses, and jack-o-lanterns. They talked, laughed, and simply enjoyed the jubilant silences between them as they walked down the streets with their hands intertwined.

"So…" Helga ventured as they got closer to her house, "Was it really that hard to tell you liked me?"

"You should talk," Arnold smiled down at her, "since you had to wait for me to say it before you admitted it. But no, it really wasn't as scary as I thought – especially since you said you liked me back."

"Ooh, scary?" Helga laughed, "You weren't scared? Well, just wait until you have to 'meet the parents.'"

Arnold blanched and grimaced simultaneously. None of his interactions with Helga's parents had been particularly enjoyable. Helga giggled and brushed a kiss against his cheek. "But I'm worth it, right?"

The fear immediately drained from his face to be replaced with a warm smile as he looked down into her eyes. He stopped walking and pulled her towards him. "Oh," he smirked down at her with his half-lidded gaze that made her crumble, "you have no idea."

He swept her into a very long, adoring kiss right there on the corner of her street. She considered warning him about possibly being seen by her parents, but then focused all her attention on the comforting feeling that Arnold always gave her. That was what was really important.

They would talk about everything later, but now only one thought crossed her mind before she shut it off to revel in the bliss of his kiss.

Best. Halloween. Ever.

* * *

A/N: And that's the end! I hope that you've enjoyed this story! I am mostly glad that I was able to finish it around Halloween! Sweet!

Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed it! Now please review to let me know what you thought of it! (They make me smile!) I also like to take requests, should anyone have any.

Happy Halloween!


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